JD Sports trading well but warns on margins
Sportswear retailer JD Sports yesterday said it was bucking the high street gloom after sales growth improved in its latest trading period.
The group said its underlying sales increased 1.7 per cent over the 17 weeks to 30 May, with growth in its sports fascias of 1.2 per cent and growth in its fashion fascias of 4.6 per cent.
This compares with group like-for-like sales up 0.3 per cent in the nine weeks to 4 April, with the sports fascias down 0.2 per cent and fashion fascias up 3.6 per cent.
But the group, which is trading well thanks to its young customer base, said it believed the pressure on margins would be “increasingly challenging later in the year” due to the weak pound. In April, the firm announced a nine per cent rise in annual pre-tax profits to £38.2m.